An activity promotes reading comprehension. Readers analyze a text of their choice while activating prior knowledge and asking and answering questions. Scholars enforce multiple strategies to improve comprehension.

A two-day assessment challenges scholars to read an excerpt from the story, Bud Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis then complete a series of exercises in preparation for a writing assignment. Day one includes an independent...

Scholars examine the first Thanksgiving through books and interviews while they complete a KWL chart. Pretending they are part of the feast, learners craft a scrapbook page that features images related to their experience. Pupils reflect...

Invite your young writers to take the reins with writing dialogue. Using two characters of their own creation, kids work with partners and then individually to write short conversations.

Sharpen those pencils and get to writing with a series of document-based questions about the French and Indian War. High schoolers focus on maps, letters, and other primary documents from the 18th century before answering writing prompts...

Sometimes explaining an argument can lead to confusion and miscommunication. Narrow down the details in written arguments with a group activity in which learners pretend to be aliens from another planet, struggling to understand each...

Can beautiful words change the world? Literary scholars discover how to paint their visions of change using poetry in a series of three workshops. Each independent topic gives participants a chance to examine their feelings about...

Teach your readers how to engage with a text by using the request strategy. As kids read Antoine de Saint Éxupery's The Little Prince, they choose a passage of text and formulate questions to stump their partners or their...

Finish your homework! Kids work on imperative sentences with a grammar worksheet, which also focuses on future progressive tense (going to). After they use a word bank to write instructions for a person going on a trip, they fill in the...

Use folk tales as inspiration for learning about and using personification in creative writing. Learners brainstorm together in order to practice personification before writing their own poems or paragraphs about a household object.

Scholars apply their knowledge of statistical questions to determine which questions meet the criteria. Grade 6 Claim 1 Item Slide Shows offers a couple of practice problems for scholars to discuss.

World War II left the British desperate for help in any form—including in the form of a magician! High schooler conduct research on Jasper Maskelyne, a stage magician who used his talents to deceive the Germans on the war front, before...

As many unfortunate journalists have learned, taking someone else's ideas and passing them off as your own is never a good idea. It's called plagiarism—and it's a big deal. Thankfully, a handout helps writers learn how to avoid...

Determine the better deal. Pupils write the equation for the cost of printing tickets from different printers. They compare the costs graphically and algebraicaly to determine which printer has the best deal based upon the quantity of...

Young scholars conduct research on a selected topic, organize the research information, and write a report. They read and discuss the rubric, brainstorm to develop criteria for determining credible sources, complete a KWL chart or web,...

Third graders learn the importance of letter writing for communication. In this letter writing lesson, 3rd graders identify how letter writing was important in the life of Abigail Adams. Students understand what a primary source is and...

First graders practice their letter writing skills by writing to a fictional character.  In this formal writing lesson, 1st graders read the books The Jolly Postman and Frog and Toad are Friends to examine the different parts of a...

Second graders use the writing process and create a silly story.  In this silly story lesson, 2nd graders will review person, event and setting and complete a chart for each.  Students will put a person, event and setting...

Fifth graders write poetry using imagery and practice poetry presentation. In this poetry lesson, 5th graders listen as the teacher reads a humorous poem using different voice modulations and presentation techniques. They discuss the...

Students investigate the Atlantic slave trade. In this slavery lesson, students watch "Slavery, Society, and Apartheid," as well as "Slave Ship." Students discuss the information presented in the videos, especially St. John's Revolt....

Why did Vietnam POWs and their families receive more media attention than POWs in previous wars?  To answer this question, class members view artifacts, read articles, and engage in class discussion. Individuals then assume the...

In the third activity from this unit based on the book Bullfrog at Magnolia Circle, learners focus on using specific details from the text-to-answer questions about the habitat of bullfrogs. While reading the text, young...

In an effort to practice engineering design, STEM classes break out into teams and endeavor to make a working ink pen. To prepare, they read about writing implements through history, patents, and viscosity of liquids. Armed with this...

In this fruit learning exercise, students will focus on writing questions. Students will read 8 given answers and write the question that corresponds with what they have read.